Current News

Senator Bernie Sanders Hamas, a terrorist organization, began this war with its brutal attack on October 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 innocent people and took 250 hostages. Israel, as any other country, had a right to defend itself from Hamas. But, over the last two years, Israel has not simply defended itself against Hamas. Instead, it has waged an all-out war against the entire Palestinian people. Many legal experts have now concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. The International Association of Genocide Scholars concluded that “Israel’s policies and actions in Gaza meet the legal definition of genocide.” The Israeli human rights groups B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel have reached the same conclusion, as have international groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

Vermont Agency of Transportation Beginning at 7:00 AM on Thursday, September 18, 2025, VT Route 244 in Fairlee between Quinibeck Road and Fern Hill Lane will be closed to all traffic until 6:00 PM on Friday, September 19, 2025. The purpose of this closure is to replace a culvert in poor condition.  

Vermont Business Magazine John Boos & Co, a pioneer in the art of crafting wooden cutting boards and butcher blocks since 1887, has announced the addition of the JK Adams Company, a celebrated name in high-quality wooden kitchenware. Honoring each company’s longstanding history in the communities where they were founded, John Boos & Co. will retain the JK Adams' headquarters and staff in Dorset, Vermont, where the company has operated since 1944. The two companies will continue to operate independently, while expanding John Boos’ U.S. footprint, along with maintaining its headquarters in Effingham, IL, where it has been located since 1887.  

Vermont Business Magazine U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) led a group of bicameral lawmakers in demanding answers from the U.S. Department of State about two violent attacks on American citizens. Senator Welch also met with families of five civilians killed and injured in the West Bank, including relatives of American-Turkish citizen Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, Palestinian-American Sayfollah Musallet, Palestinian-American teenagers Tawfic Abdel Jabbar and Mohammed Ibrahim, and American citizen Rachel Corrie. 

Vermont Business Magazine Special Olympics Vermont has announced that Albert D. Lawton Intermediate School (ADL), a school with Special Olympics Unified Champion School® programming, is receiving national banner recognition for its efforts to provide inclusive sports and activities for students with and without intellectual disabilities. ADL is receiving this distinguished status as a result of meeting 10 national standards of excellence in the areas of inclusion, advocacy, and respect. A national panel of leaders from Special Olympics and the education community developed these standards. Champlain Valley Union High School, first awarded national recognition in 2020, has been recognized again for their enduring commitment to inclusion. 

Vermont Business Magazine At a time when 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) have introduced the Tax Excessive CEO Pay Act to take on corporate greed and rein in the obscene salaries of America’s top executives. The legislation would raise taxes on corporations that pay their executives more than 50 times the wages of their workers. If Elon Musk receives the full $975 billion compensation package that Tesla’s board proposed, Tesla could owe up to $100 billion more in taxes over the next decade under this legislation.

Vermont Business Magazine The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont stated that Kenneth Beane, 37, of Richmond, Vermont, has been charged by criminal complaint with Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Materials. On September 8, 2025, Beane appeared before United States Magistrate Judge Kevin J. Doyle. A detention hearing was held on September 9, 2025, during which the government requested Beane be held pending trial, due to his prior federal conviction for possession of child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) and his prior violations of release conditions that included unapproved contacts with minors. Magistrate Judge Doyle denied the government’s motion and ordered Beane released on conditions that included location monitoring, not having contact with children, and avoiding places where children are likely to congregate. 

Norwich University has announced that a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, one of the most iconic aircraft in the world, will conduct a flyover just prior to the start of the Homecoming football game. The flyover will take place around 2 p.m. Saturday at Sabine Field. Norwich University extends its gratitude to the United States Air Force for granting this extraordinary flyover, a tribute that honors our alumni and celebrates our proud heritage as the birthplace of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC). 

Vermont Business Magazine Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), today delivered an opening statement at the committee's oversight hearing on the Trump administration’s decision to fire Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Susan Monarez and oust senior scientists. On July 31, Dr. Monarez was sworn in as our nation’s first Senate-confirmed Director of the CDC. At her swearing-in ceremony, Secretary Kennedy said: “Dr. Monarez is a public health expert with unimpeachable scientific credentials. I have full confidence in her ability to restore the CDC's role as the most trusted authority in public health and to strengthen our nation's readiness to confront infectious diseases and biosecurity threats.” That was what Secretary Kennedy said on July 31.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont CUD Association (VCUDA) is thanking Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB) Deputy Director Robert Fish for his leadership in helping Vermont on its way to achieving its bold broadband goals. Fish is moving on from the VCBB in October 2025. He joined the Vermont Department of Public Service in 2019, just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and has been a tireless supporter of Vermont’s broadband strategy and of communications union districts. He was the VCBB’s second employee, hired in 2021 shortly after the board was formed and its Executive Director Christine Hallquist was appointed by Governor Phil Scott. Deputy Director Fish played a pivotal role in the early leadership of the VCBB, expanding staff capacity from two to twelve. Fish helped to manage more than $280 million in broadband funding, including securing several million dollars in funding from the Northern Border Regional Commission.

Vermont Business Magazine As the Trump administration continues to attack and undermine Head Start, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), today introduced the Head Start for America’s Children Act after addressing more than 500 Head Start educators and administrators at the National Head Start Association conference. This sweeping legislation would expand Head Start to ensure that more than 11 million young children from working class families can access high-quality early education and comprehensive services, while also ensuring Head Start educators earn the wages they deserve. 

Vermont Business Magazine The US Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) yesterday filed a motion for summary judgment in its challenge to the State of Vermont’s “climate superfund” law, which imposes what will likely be billions of dollars in liability on foreign and domestic energy companies for their alleged past contributions to climate change. The complaint was filed in May, along with a complaint against the State of New York for its similar statute, to advance President Trump’s executive order to protect American energy from state overreach. Vermont's Climate Superfund Act requires the largest fossil fuel companies to pay for a share of climate change costs proportional to their emissions from 1995-2024.